To verify the degree of sterility obtaining in an autoclave process it has been conventional practice to insert into the autoclave a bacterial indicator, such as shown in any of U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,955; 5,252,484; or 5,418,167. After the autoclave heating cycle has run its course, the bacterial indicator is place in an incubator to determine whether the autoclaving has been successful in killing the bacteria in the test indicator.
However, to assess the sterility of sanitary piping and tank systems used for food processing, the practice has been to insert a thermocouple wrapped with a bacterial test strip into the system. Sterilizing steam is applied and maintained at an appropriate temperature for a specified length of time. After the steam is turned off the test strip is removed and incubated to see if the bacteria in the test strip have been killed by the steam. If all goes well and the test strip has not become dislodged from the thermocouple, the conventional process takes approximately seven days during which time the piping system cannot be put to productive use.
It would be extremely advantageous to be able to use the encapsulated bacterial indicator of the aforementioned patents in sanitary piping, tank systems and fermenters in order to reduce the time taken to verify the sterility of the sanitary piping systems.